Author: Purple Squirrel

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Business Tips Purple Squirrel

10 Top Daily Actions for a Purple Squirrel

Purple Squirrel Business Coach DerbyBeing a Purple Squirrel isn’t about scurrying around aimlessly! It’s about being a business leader at the top of your game. Much like the sharp, resourceful squirrel, a successful business person is agile, strategic, and always prepared for the future. Here are 10 daily actions to help you channel the Purple Squirrel and achieve peak performance in your business life.

1. Gather and Store Knowledge

Just as squirrels prepare for winter by storing food, the best business minds collect information constantly. Read industry news, listen to podcasts, or invest 20 minutes daily in personal development. Knowledge is your stash of nuts. Be sure to keep it well stocked.

2. Set Clear Priorities (Bury the Right Nuts)

Squirrels instinctively know which nuts are worth burying. You should, too. Start each day by identifying your top three priorities and focus on them first. Don’t get distracted by shiny objects. Stay focused on what matters most.

3. Check Your Territory

A squirrel always knows what’s happening in its environment. As a business leader, take time each morning to check key metrics and updates. Whether it’s reviewing sales data, monitoring your team’s progress, or keeping an eye on the competition; staying informed will help you make the best decisions.

4. Make Time for Strategic Thinking

Squirrels don’t survive on instinct alone; they are also planners. Dedicate time daily to think strategically about your business. Where do you want to be in six months? Are you moving in the right direction? Reflect, adjust, and keep your vision in sight.

5. Build Your Network (Branch Out)

Squirrels are social creatures and build connections across their territory. Do the same. Whether it’s attending a networking event, catching up with a colleague, or engaging on LinkedIn, nurture your relationships; they’ll be crucial for your growth.

6. Check Your Resources

A squirrel’s hidden stash isn’t useful if it’s forgotten. Regularly review your business’s resources; financial, physical, and human. Know what’s available and ensure everything is aligned to support your goals.

7. Stay Agile and Adaptable

In the business world, like in the treetops, conditions change quickly. Stay adaptable and open to change. Daily challenges aren’t setbacks; they’re opportunities to pivot, learn, and grow stronger. If you stay alert and react faster than your competitors, you’ll soon find yourself at the top of the tree.

8. Celebrate Small Wins (Crack Open a Nut)

Even the smallest win can fuel your momentum. Recognise your daily successes, no matter how minor they seem. Reward yourself and your team for hitting targets. It’ll keep morale high and energy flowing.

9. Refuel and Recharge

Squirrels are active but know when to pause and rest. Business success requires energy and focus, so take care of yourself. Prioritise sleep, healthy eating, and mental breaks to ensure you’re performing at your best.

10. Plan for Tomorrow

Before wrapping up your day, take a moment to prepare for tomorrow. Review your progress, set priorities for the next day, and ensure you’re ready to hit the ground running. Just like a well prepared squirrel, planning ahead is key to long term success. Those nuts you buried in autumn sure will come in handy during the winter!

By adopting these daily habits, you’ll stay ahead of the pack. Resourceful, resilient, and ready to thrive in any environment. Remember, being a Purple Squirrel isn’t just about business acumen; it’s about balancing agility, strategy, and a touch of mischief to keep things exciting.

Ready to level up your game? Contact Purple Squirrel for coaching and mentoring that will help you climb even higher.

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Costs

Hidden Costs

hidden costs - Business Coach DerbyWe all know that a Profit & Loss statement tells us how much money we’ve made in that period. But when was the last time that you REALLY dug into all the numbers on that page?

I don’t mean just looking at a line and thinking “that seems high, but we did do a lot of overtime this month”, or “Gosh! We spent quite a bit on stationary this year”. I mean pulling it apart. Taking every single item in that stationary account and fully understanding what it was for, and whether we actually needed it, or if it should have been charged to a client, or even if it is there by mistake.

There are many places in a business where costs can hide, and just not really get noticed. For example, if we expect to see travel and subsistence at a certain level, we don’t question it. But if you really examine that account in detail, you may well find that an expense claim has been duplicated, or a train ticket that wasn’t used hasn’t been refunded yet, or any number of other small anomalies.

Another area that costs tend to creep up without any attention being paid to them is in the area of subscriptions, or memberships fees. We know we have to pay our annual subs for whichever professional body we are a member of, but over the years, we often subscribe to new publications, or clubs, or a new piece of software. In many cases, we just don’t notice them, because they come out a as direct debit, and we are used to seeing that cost in the P&L. But how often do you go through your subs and think “Do I actually still use that?”. This is a good exercise to do in your private finances, not just your business.

This is a particularly important exercise to do when cashflow is healthy, because that is when we tend to just let things go, and not question them. When cash is tight, we often pay pretty close attention to it, so are much more aware of every penny being spent. But just think…. How much extra profit could you be earning, just by paying a bit more attention to the things being put through your accounts? It might only be small numbers, but small numbers can quickly add up!

If this sounds like something I could help you with, then please get in touch. I am happy to have a phone or zoom chat to discuss your requirements and to see if I can help you.

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KPIs Measurement

Everything Measured, Improves

everything measured, improves - Business Coach DerbyThis is one of life’s fundamental facts. If we measure, monitor, track or try to control something, it will get better. BUT….. if we are measuring the wrong thing, it can often result in an unexpected result somewhere else.

Early on in my career, I was a management accountant for a commercial bakery. We started to realise that the waste being created by the doughnut line was creeping up. So, we started to monitor it by shift and by product line. Sure enough, after a few weeks, the waste started to go down again, and we all patted ourselves on the back for having spotted it and corrected the issue.

However, a few weeks after that, we started to see an increase in customer returns and complaints, regarding doughnuts! What on earth was going on? Well, because the teams on the doughnut line knew we were monitoring the waste created, they stopped throwing the poor quality product away, and started packing it instead. Therefore, the customers were receiving poor quality product.

What was the lesson we learned here? We were monitoring the WRONG thing. What we should have been doing is monitoring the type of issue that was creating the waste, and why there was so much poor quality product coming off the line. I actually forget what the real reason was, but it could have been the oil temperature was too high, resulting in burnt doughnuts; or the jam machine wasn’t functioning correctly, meaning that the jam wasn’t being inserted properly; or any number of other issues in a commercial production line.

This was one of my very early lessons in how important it is to measure the RIGHT thing, and how measuring the WRONG thing can result in a failure somewhere else in the process. I have used this lesson throughout my career, and now help other businesses to identify what the right things are to measure and track. This is the basis of creating a KPI dashboard for my clients, so they can quickly and clearly see if there are any fundamental issues in their processes.

If this sounds like something I could help you with, then please get in touch. I am happy to have a phone or zoom chat to discuss your requirements and to see if I can help you.